Her Troubled Cowboy: Harland County Series, #9

By Donna Michaels

**New Cover**
Some incidents from the past are not easily forgotten…

For over a year, former National Guardsman Keiffer Wyne left his past in Pennsylvania to start a new life, drifting from ranch to ranch across the southwest. Unrestricted, nomadic, unaccountable—he embraces the new lifestyle, until he's called upon to watch over his sister Brandy during her husband's absence. The problem? She'll be there. The one woman capable of breaking through his barriers and making him feel.

Caitlin Ryan can't believe who blew into Harland County looking dangerous, hotter, sexier than the time they shared an unforgettable weekend together. She knows he's still dealing with the death of his buddy and his mind isn't in a good place, but neither of them are strong enough to fight their undeniable attraction. Keiffer's troubled and all wrong for her, counting down the days until he leaves. Too bad she never learned to shy away from trouble…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Donna Michaels
• Release date: Dec 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533772749

Book preview

What they’re saying...

About Her Uniform Cowboy:

Ms. Michaels pens a tale with pure heart and true grit! This story will hit so many readers close to home there is not one part of the plot that will feel foreign. No super models here, just true, down to earth servicemen and woman getting back to their place in the world. The characters and plot have a wonderful arc and the laughter, tears and emotional ride readers get to take on this journey will not disappoint.

—InD’tale Magazine, Crowned Heart of Excellence 4.5 Stars

—Voted BEST COWBOY in a Book/Reader’s Choice-LRC

—1st Place BTS eMag Book Award/Reader’s Choice-Best Romance

—2nd Place BTS eMag Book Awards for Best Book

About Wyne and Dine:

It was a steamy, sexy, and fun read that also had its serious moments and also had its sweet and tender moments as well. They were an absolute delightful hoot and were truly enjoyable. So if you get a chance, pick up a copy.

—Reviewer- Cassandra Graham, BTS eMagazine

—1st Place BTS eMag Book Awards/Best Contemporary

About Her Forever Cowboy:

Ms. Michaels has done it again! Book four in this series is another great success. The author knows how to lure her readers in by telling them a wonderful story that’s wrapped around characters we get to know and love as if they’re real people. This book was no exception. I highly recommend this book and this author!

—Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

—July Read of the Month—SSYL

2nd Pl. Honorable Mention 2015 Rone Awards

—2nd  Place BTS Magazine Red Carpet Book Awards

About This Book

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Some incidents from the past are not easily forgotten...

For over a year, former National Guardsman Keiffer Wyne left his past in Pennsylvania to start a new life, drifting from ranch to ranch across the southwest. Unrestricted, nomadic, unaccountable—he embraces the new lifestyle, until he’s called upon to watch over his sister Brandy during her husband’s absence. The problem? She’ll be there. The one woman capable of breaking through his barriers and making him feel.

Caitlin Ryan can’t believe who blew into Harland County looking dangerous, hotter, sexier than the time they shared an unforgettable weekend together. She knows he’s still dealing with the death of his buddy and his mind isn’t in a good place, but neither of them are strong enough to fight their undeniable attraction. Keiffer’s troubled and all wrong for her, counting down the days until he leaves. Too bad she never learned to shy away from trouble...

Thanks for reading,

~Donna

www.donnamichaelsauthor.com

ALSO BY DONNA MICHAELS

www.DonnaMichaelsAuthors.com

All of Donna’s novels are written as stand alones and can be read out of order

~Harland County Series~

Harland County Christmas (Prequel)

Her Fated Cowboy (#1)

Her Unbridled Cowboy (#2)

Her Uniform Cowboy (#3) (Award Winning)

Her Forever Cowboy (#4) (Award Winning)

Her Healing Cowboy (#5)

Her Volunteer Cowboy (#6)

Her Indulgent Cowboy (#7)

Her Hell Yeah Cowboy (#8) (KW)

Her Troubled Cowboy (#9) (Citizen Soldier Crossover)

Her Hell No Cowboy (#10) (KW rel. 02/2017)

~Citizen Soldier Novels~

(Harland County Spinoff Series)

Wyne and Dine (#1) (Award Winning)

Wyne and Chocolate (#2)

Wyne and Song (#3)

Wine and Her New Year Cowboy (#4)

Whine and Rescue (#5) (KW)

Wine and Hot Shoes (#6)

~Dangerous Curves Series~

Knight’s SEAL –KW (#1)

Locke and Load (#2) (Award Winning)

A DAYE with a SEAL—KW (#3)

Cowboy LAWE (#4)

A SEAL for Paige (#5) tba

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~Entangled Lovestruck~

~The Men of At Ease Ranch Series~

In A Ranger’s Arms (#1)

Her Secret Ranger (#2) (tba)

~Time-shift Heroes Series~

Captive Hero (#1)

Future Cowboy Hero (#2) (tba)

~Related~

Cowboy-Fiancé (formerly Cowboy-Sexy) (Hand drawn Japanese Translation now avail!)

Cowboy Payback (sequel) (Award Winning)

~Do-Over Series~

Valentine’s Day Do-Over (#1)

Valentine’s Day Do-Over Part II: The Siblings (#2)

~Novels~

She Does Know Jack

Royally Unleashed

The Spy Who Fanged Me

~Novellas~

Thanks for Giving

Ten Things I’d Do for a Cowboy

Vampire Kristmas

DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com

Her Troubled

Cowboy

A Harland County/

Citizen Soldier Series Crossover

Book Nine: Keiffer

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By

NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Donna Michaels

HER TROUBLED COWBOY

Harland County/Citizen Soldier Series Crossover

Book Nine: Keiffer

Copyright © 2016 Donna Michaels

Cover Artist: Donna Michaels © 2016

Cover photo by Cover Me Photography with Jose Ruiz

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, then please return to DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

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This is dedicated to all those dealing with suicide. Even though I am an author, there are no words to voice my thoughts and feelings. Just know my heart is with you.

I’d like to thank the Harland County and Citizen Soldier fans for their patience in waiting for Keiffer’s story. With my husband’s unit having been touched by suicide more than once, this was by far the hardest book I’ve written and I wanted to make sure I did it justice.

It was important for me to balance the right amount of humor with such a tough subject and truly love how it all turned out. I hope you do, too!

♥

Chapter One

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The sound of a vehicle approaching penetrated through Keiffer Wyne’s uneasy slumber, jolting him upright in the back of his truck. His chest heaved as he dragged in the crisp morning air.

That damn dream again.

Sweat-soaked and shaking, he scrubbed a hand over his face, his palm scraping over the beard he’d trimmed for his sister before hitting the road yesterday. Just once he’d love to catch a few hours of solid, dreamless sleep. It had been his sole quest since leaving his family, his friends—his home—in the Poconos of Pennsylvania a year and a half ago. But no matter where the hell he went, or what the hell he did, that damn nightmare followed. He couldn’t outrun it.

Or the memories...

Greg? Where are you, man? he called out as he entered the silent garage. I’ve come armed with breakfast sandwiches from Lea.

No response. No wrenches clanking or creeper wheels scuffing...just silence.

Dead silence.

Images of his best friend laying on the concrete floor next to the Oldsmobile they were restoring, his head surrounded by a pool of blood from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, haunted Keiffer day and night.

Swallowing a curse, he unzipped the sleeping bag and tossed it aside before he scrambled off the back of the truck. The sun inched up the sky, bringing warmth to the cold December morning. He forced himself to suck in a deep, ragged breath. He missed the scent of snow and pine trees, which, no doubt, prevailed back home, but the smell of dirt and a faint mixture of salted Gulf air helped clear his head.

He was in Texas now, not Pennsylvania.

He no longer worked at the Pocono resort he owned with his brothers. No longer served in the National Guard with his brothers. No longer walked around his hometown, choking on childhood memories of Greg everywhere he turned, or the knowledge he hadn’t been there to save his buddy’s ass. To stop him from pulling the damn trigger.

That last part followed him. Haunted. Tortured. Twisted.

Despite roaming from ranch to ranch across the southwest and throwing himself into the physical labor of a ranch hand, he still found no resolution. He was edgy and pissed at himself—at Greg—at the world. But staying busy helped. It was the key to keeping sane.

Stretching the kinks out of his back and neck, he watched a black truck slow down to a stop in front of his Ford and immediately recognized the driver.

Kade Dalton, his brother-in-law, and part of the reason he was in Harland County.

Keiffer. Good to see you. The guy approached with a confident, sure stride, and shoulders set in a typical military fashion. Similar to Keiffer’s father, and brother, Ben, both career military men.

You, too, Kade. He shook the man’s hand, noting a measure of knowing and understanding in his strong grip and keen gray gaze.

A first sergeant in the National Guard, Kade Dalton was a good leader, a good man, and a good husband to Keiffer’s sister, Brandi. The man adored her, and his sister blossomed from it, bouncing back from the mistreatment from her former asshat boyfriend.

His brother-in-law released him to motion to his truck. Break down?

Shit, yeah.

He was a damn mess, but that wasn’t what the guy meant. Keiffer held back a snort and shook his head instead. Nah. Pulled over to crash for a few. He walked to the back to roll up his sleeping bag. Didn’t want to knock on your door in the middle of the night.

Having arrived in Harland County in the wee hours of the morning, he’d decided to catch a few hours of shut eye before proceeding to his sister’s ranch.

Kade nodded. I was on my way to meet Connor for breakfast. Why don’t you join us? His wife Kerri is cooking at her restaurant, The Texas Republic. It isn’t open, so it’ll just be us.

He smirked and scratched his bristled jaw. I look that bad, huh?

The guy grinned. A little rough. Nothing a good breakfast can’t fix—and maybe some clippers.

If it delayed his reunion with Brandi, he was all for it. All right. Yes to breakfast, but no to the clippers. Not that he didn’t love his sister. He did. But Keiffer wasn’t in any hurry to hear her fuss over him or to see the compassion and emotion fill her brown eyes until it spilled over.

God, no.

He wasn’t ready for that.

Would never be ready for that.

Hell, that’s why he’d delayed visiting her for the past year and half. Until she’d told him about...

He stilled, then turned to Kade. Hey, Jesus, where’s my brain? Congratulations, man.

Pride and a flash of something deeper warmed Kade’s gaze. Thanks. His height appeared to increase as they shook hands again. Me—a dad. Not something I ever thought I’d be. Darkness clouded the father-to-be’s gaze, but a shake of his head sent it away. Then I met your sister. She’s my Godsend.

Keiffer saw and felt every bit of the emotion Kade put into those words. He nodded. That’s Brandi. Our family was blessed when she arrived, too.

He could still remember the day his father introduced Brandi and her mother Caroline to him and his three brothers. The youngest at twelve, Keiffer had been closest in age to the shy ten-year-old girl whose kind, genuine heart won over every single Wyne inside of ten minutes. The sister they never had. The sister none of them ever wanted to lose. 

Remorse tightened his stomach. He’d treated her like shit the past eighteen months, barely returning her calls or texts. And when he’d lost his phone a few months back, he never bothered to replace it, until two weeks ago.

Your call at the wedding meant a lot to your family. Kade clamped a hand on his shoulder and leveled a steady gaze on him. I know it was tough, but you made my wife’s year. Thank you.

The call had actually been to his oldest brother Ethan, after finding out the guy was getting married again. God, Keiffer had been happy to hear it when he’d had a drink with his brother’s best friend Matt, after attending the NASCAR race up in Fort Worth in early November. That’s when Matt filled him in on Ethan’s upcoming nuptials. Keiffer had forced himself to call Ethan on his wedding day to congratulate him, and the phone got passed around.

He knew Matt had hoped he’d make the trip home, but he’d left the Poconos for good. His family meant everything to him, but he wouldn’t return...not even for his brother, who had found a wonderful woman who actually loved him and his seven-year-old son, Tyler.

Just thinking about them tightened his chest. Especially Tyler.

He missed the smart little boy, but Keiffer looked like shit and felt like shit and wasn’t in the right mindset to talk to his young nephew.

Kade’s grip on his shoulder increased. I appreciate you agreeing to come here. It eases my mind to know you’re at the ranch while I’m gone for three weeks.

To some damn military course.

His insides twisted. God, he didn’t want to be here. What the hell was he thinking? The urge to brush away his brother-in-law’s hand, jump in his truck, and race north shook through Keiffer—hard. Dammit. He didn’t want family counting on him. Relying on him. The last person who had died because he wasn’t there for him.

My cousin and his family live on the ranch. Kade’s voice broke through his misery. But Kevin’s not here during the day. He works out of Houston.

Keiffer drew in a shaky breath and recalled the enigmatic Texan and his dance moves on stage at his sister’s bachelorette party a few years back.

That seemed like a damn lifetime ago. A happier, lighter, carefree time. One when food tasted better. Beer tasted better. Women tasted better. Especially the one he’d hooked up with after the bachelorette party that night.

Caitlin Ryan.

Younger sister to Kevin’s wife Shayla. The woman with brown hair and gorgeous baby blues had a body as sweet as her temperament. Silently cursing the man who’d made the pretty thing sad, he’d enjoyed putting a smile on her face and making the shy girl pant his name that weekend.

We should probably get to the Pub before Connor eats all the bacon. Kade released him with a wink and started to walk to his vehicle. You can leave your truck here. It’ll be fine.

Still longing to hop in it and drive away, Keiffer forced his panic aside and climbed in